18 held after immolation bid near Patnaik`s residence

Bhubaneswar: At least 18 people, including six women, were arrested after a woman tried to set herself on fire at a protest near the official residence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here, police said on Thursday.

Rina Pradhan, 32, on Wednesday poured kerosene and tried to set herself on fire near the Chief Minister`s residence Naveen Nivas in Bhubaneswar. She complained of police inaction over her brother`s killing about three months ago. She was accompanied by several others of her Dholapathar village in Khurda district, about 25 km from here. Police whisked her away when she was about to light a matchstick, a police officer told a news agency. Police arrested her and 17 others after the incident, he said. Her brother, Ramakanta Bailarsingh, was found dead on a railway track near their village on September 20. Although police said it was a case of suicide, Rina and villagers have been demanding a probe.